Saturday marks May 1 and with it the start of the 10th annual Oregon Wine Month. Please join us and your peers in promoting this important program to your consumer and trade audiences. I’ll detail new resources the OWB has made available to do so below, all of which and more are available on the Oregon Wine Month Toolkit.
This year’s Oregon Wine Month gives us the opportunity to begin sharing your new Oregon Wine brand to the world. To do so, a new suite of digital graphics and logos has been created that marries past OWM branding with new brand work. Those new logos files and regional assets can be viewed and downloaded here. There are a variety of asset sizes and variations to make publishing across any platform easy, including 8.5″x11″ and 5″x7″ tasting room POS for in house printing.
I want to call particular attention to one set of regional assets designed to allow for customization. As you can see below, the state cutout acts as a frame for your photography, providing a simple way to combine your brand within the context of your region and the Oregon Wine Month campaign.
In addition to using the provided graphics to share your own Oregon Wine Month activities, the Rogue Valley and Willamette Valley sweepstakes opportunities are an easy value add in newsletters and on social media. Now is the perfect time to inspire travel daydreams to Oregon Wine country.
To both inspire and facilitate travel, please order your complimentary copies of the printed 2021 Oregon Wine Touring Guide. This fifth edition is another 80-page love letter to Oregon Wine and includes unique editorial as well as 500+ tasting room listings, and maps and itineraries for all regions.
New this year, the OWB is curating a winemaker video series for Instagram. Each day in May we’ll post a new video of a winemaker sharing a favorite Oregon wine. Titled Pour it fORward, you’re invited to join in by sharing your own videos on your channels. Click here for the program details and how to participate.
The OWB’s consumer events calendar enjoys elevated traffic during May. When adding your events, be sure to select “Oregon Wine Month” from the “Event Categories” field. This allows us and consumers to easily find related events.
Last, tag your May efforts with #OregonWineMonth and @oregonwineboard so we can amplify them and provide connection throughout the industry. The OWB’s paid media campaign is already underway and after a long, hard year this May feels full of promise and potential.
Kai McMurtry
Manager Consumer Relations
IN MEMORIAM
Jim Witte passed away on April 2. His wife Holly offers this remembrance:
Jim “retired” in 2000 as a television executive to fulfill a dream and plant a vineyard, make wine and nurture the land. His first released vintage at A Blooming Hill Vineyard & Winery in Cornelius was the 2008 Pinot noir. In his humility, a hallmark of his life, he recognized how lucky he was with the conditions that year. Over the next 10 years, we added a block of Pinot, opened a tasting room that was really a salon in which people gathered regularly to get to know Jim and Holly; cared for our 14 horses and our Wine Dogs; and, gave many local musicians weekend gigs. Jim learned his craft at Chemeketa, continued to learn and share his knowledge and stayed true to protecting the land from development. He gave his heart and soul to everything he did and will be missed by people he worked with decades ago in TV and by many friends in the wine industry. Jim’s memorial will be planned this spring, and Holly will have further details soon.
MARKETING
Share the Oregon Wine Month Trade Education Series (in progress)
OWB Education Director Bree Stock MW recently presented the first of four master class webinars designed for the trade focusing on Oregon and three of its major winegrowing regions. Share the first recording and registration links for upcoming classes with your trade contacts.
Oregon Wine Month Toolkit Updated
The Oregon Wine Month toolkit has been updated to include new social media graphics, refreshed OWM logo files, and more to make your promotion and participation throughout May as easy as possible. Visit the toolkit and join us in promoting trial and awareness throughout May.
2021-22 Oregon Wine Touring Guide Available
The newest edition of the official Oregon Wine Touring Guide has printed and is available for complimentary order and delivery in 40-count cases. Please help us distribute this comprehensive tourism resource to visitors statewide by ordering your copies now.
Optimize Google My Business with Free Tools
Travel Oregon has partnered with Portland-based company Locl to provide free access to a suite of Google My Business (GMB) optimization tools to help Oregon travel and tourism businesses optimize their GMB profiles. To learn more, watch this informational webinar or visit Travel Oregon’s toolkit.
Wine Spectator Co-op Advertising Opportunity | Deadline: Aug. 24
Wine Spectator is offering a cooperative advertising opportunity in the November 2021 holiday edition, providing exposure in the magazine at a more affordable price than standalone advertising. Participation is first-come, first-served. The deadline to reserve space is August 24. Click here to learn more or contact Cheryl Lewis.
RESEARCH
OWB-Sponsored Research Update: Grapevine Trunk Diseases in Oregon Vineyards
Dr. Achala KC, assistant professor of plant pathology at OSU, has prepared an update about research she is conducting to identify fungal pathogens associated with grapevine trunk disease in Oregon, the impacts of different climates on spore dispersal, and cultural practices that can help mitigate grapevine trunk diseases.
OWB Market Insights Report: Oregon Wine Performance in Off-Premise Retail
For years, Oregon wine has outperformed the category at retail across premium price segments and in a variety of U.S. markets. Oregon’s growth in the off-premise channel continued in 2020 despite the shift in buying patterns driven by the pandemic. Learn more in this summary report based on 2020 Nielsen data commissioned by OWB.
April 2021 Weather and Climate Forecast
On April 5, Dr. Greg Jones of Linfield University published an updated weather and climate summary and forecast. This report looks back at March conditions and forecasts conditions for April, May and June.
EDUCATION
Linfield University Wine Studies Summer Bootcamps
Linfield Wine Studies faculty are conducting three bootcamps this summer covering winemaking (July 26-Aug. 6), grape growing (Aug. 1-13), and how to build successful sales and marketing programs (July 12-23). Registration is now open for these courses, which may be taken for-credit or not-for-credit.
CALLS FOR WINE
The Oregon Wine Competition Now Accepting Entries | Deadline: June 11
The Oregon Wine Competition provides an excellent opportunity for Oregon winemakers to have a panel of internationally renowned experts assess their wine. This year’s competition will take place July 17-18, and award-winning wines will be featured at the 2021 Oregon Wine Experience event in August. Wineries may submit up to five of their wines by June 11. All wines must be produced from 100% Oregon-sourced grapes and must be commercially available.
OTHER NEWS
Oregon Wine Industry Forums | Next Meeting: May 11
Join the OWB and partners on May 11 at 11 a.m. for the next Oregon Wine Industry Forum. Special guests on the 11th include Dr. Greg Jones and presenters from Travel Oregon. These monthly discussions are open to any proprietor, employee or consultant of an Oregon winery or vineyard. Register for this opportunity to stay current on industry trends, connect with industry members across the state and stay informed on OWB programming and opportunities.
UPCOMING EVENTS
The OWB’s industry website hosts a calendar that includes industry-facing events as well as events with significant industry participation. Consult it when scheduling or rescheduling events to avoid conflicts, and don’t forget to post entries as well.
Links to post to both the industry calendar and the OWB’s consumer-facing calendar can be found here.
